Keeper
by AyanamiEraclea
Summary: Manfred may hate all of the people around him, but he knows he has to take care of them somehow, and keep them safe. This is a Series of ficlets centered around this theme. May change rating for the last chapter...
1. Brother's Keeper

M'kay. Haven't been writing in a while so keep your shorts on for a bit. I apologize for not being…on for a while, so yeah. I've been reviewing though, so make sure you return the favor. These are awful short, too. Ficlets.

Chapter 1

Brother's Keeper

Manfred Bloor was an only child, and he liked it. He had enough responsibility taking care of his grandfather, father, and the rest of them. He had enough responsibility doing their bidding.

However, he liked the responsibility that was taking care of two exceptionally gifted young men in Bloor's Academy. Their names were Dagbert Endless and Joshua Tilpin. He liked helping them with their homework. He liked teaching them hand-to-hand combat, and occasionally he'd take out his ancient Japanese katana to show them. At first, this was just to humor them because he knew that they had work to do. But after his incident with the Flames, he realized something.

These boys hung out with him not out of pity, not out of fear, and not out of incentive. They hung around because they admired him. As an older brother, kind of. So in a way, Manfred was not an only child anymore. Not that he was a child, anyway.

Of course, there are times where he likes that he's not their real older brother. Like this, for example.

"Manfred?" Joshua had detention for, of course, talking in the hall. The two young men were up in the attic getting rid of some of the family's old magazines. Joshua was over in a corner with Manfred's box.

"Hn?" Manfred busied himself reading a 15-year-old newsmagazine. Joshua was having trouble suppressing giggles as he pulled about 4 men's magazines out of the box. With half-naked ladies on the cover.

"You want these?" Finally the giggling could not be stopped and became Joshua on the floor laughing. Manfred turned around and immediately blushed.

"Um, no. Put those in the bin!" He quickly snatched them from Joshua's hands, which were shaking with laughter. The laughing stopped and the work resumed. But 5 minutes later…

"Manfred?"

"What is it, Joshua?" Manfred said with a sigh.

"Have you ever gotten laid?" Manfred choked and almost fell.

"WHAT THE HELL KIND OF QUESTION IS THAT?" He bellowed.

"That's exactly what I expected. Not once? In your life?" Joshua had a small trace of the giggles in his face again.

What was he supposed to say to this? Should he lie and make himself look cool? Should he tell the truth, which would be the responsible thing? Or what? Stay silent? No, that would just confirm Joshua's very real suspicions that Manfred was indeed a virgin.

"Well?" Joshua's voice snapped Manfred out of his thought process.

"…no. I'm a virgin." He winced horribly as Joshua started laughing again.

"I'll be sure to ask Zelda to give you some next we all go visit her." Manfred smirked.

"Water conducts electricity, you know." Joshua nodded.

"I'll say that you asked. Well, it's about time I left. Toodles!" Joshua hopped out of the attic, leaving Manfred alone.

The young man sighed. It was times like these that he wished he was Joshua's older brother for real. Then he would have the right to beat the living hell out of him.

OK, that didn't come out like it was supposed to…Dagbert was the one in the attic originally, and it came out as humor. Well, the rest of them will be more angsty and dramatic. I'm glad it came out shorter though. 580 words.


	2. Sister's Keeper

Rawr. Alice has returned to the story after getting two wonderful reviews. Thanks to arisa and DONTH8MECOSUAINTME.

Chapter 2

Sister's Keeper

Everyone knew that they had been "indirectly" seeing each other for years, but nobody could honestly guess when Manfred Bloor and Zelda Dobinski started dating officially. Only when Manfred had stopped by the small 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom house to give Zelda her scarf back after a date did her "girls" notice.

Beth saw him first. She shrieked and started telekinetically hurling household objects at him. She was followed by Idith, who not only started hurling objects at him but the ground started shaking as well. A small red haired girl Manfred had never seen before leaped across the room and started tying him up.

The last girl walked in with a highly amused look on her face.

"Why are you trying to kill Zelda's boyfriend?" Inez said icily. The other three froze. The small red-haired girl looked up at him.

"Bloody hell. It's _Freddy_."

"_Dorcas Loom_?" He sputtered. The red-haired one took a step back.

"You think I always look that fat?" She said indignantly. "And my real name isn't Dorcas either. It's freakin _Ruby_." Idith walked over to the two of them. She raised a hand and there was a pause. Then she slapped Manfred.

"I. Am. Going. To. Kill. Her. FOR NOT TELLING US!"

"And you think that gives you the right to _slap me_?" A yawn was heard.

"What in the hell is all this noise about?" Zelda appeared in the doorway wearing a nightshirt and nothing else. When she saw Manfred she shrieked and ran back into the other room to cover herself. Leaving Manfred, of course, with the girls.

"So." Idith said. She seemed to be their leader. Or their most outgoing one. Either way she was a pain in the ass.

"So what?" Manfred snapped.

"So you're a butt pie. That's what." If Manfred had ever had murderous urges, he never had one as intense as this one towards Idith.

"You're taking Zelda away from us. And you made her lie to us." Dorcas/Ruby said, shaking her head. Beth took his hand.

"So I have one question. If you answer this incorrectly I'll break your hand. It's awful pretty, too. It'd be a shame to lose." Beth looked at Manfred intensely who looked back at her weakly. Damn all the years of hypnotism to hell for not being able to match a 16-year-old girl's fervent stare.

"Are you worth Zelda's time?" Manfred blinked. And looked around him at his surroundings. Then he smirked.

"You'd have to ask her that." The girls looked at each other and Beth nodded.

"All right. I'll accept that." She whipped her hand out of his like it was diseased. Suddenly Zelda hurried back in with pants on.

"Oh dear. What have they done to you?" She bustled over to Manfred, shooing the girls away.

Manfred thought of the many possible things he could have said. Like "They terrorized me." Or "They're demons." He sighed.

"Absolutely lovely. They were so nice."

But Manfred isn't stupid. He knows that if he ever wanted a more serious relationship with Zelda, he had to choose his words wisely.

Oh, well. Sisters can't be much different than brothers.

OHMYFUCKINGGODTHATWASSOSHITTY.

cries


	3. Mother's Keeper

I just realized that Keeper is going to be incredibly easy for me to finish. So I'm going to handle that accordingly. Since I haven't played Kingdom Hearts in years, I'm going to attempt to push out the final chapter of Little Superior Dude and then, for a little while at least, discontinue Twilight Town Psychiatric Facility and Chatroom.

I have a lot on my plate with schoolwork, student council, TV studio, Library Club, Homecoming, Drama Club…just stuff in general. 10th grade is my first year of high school and it's a roller coaster so please bear with me. I would have tried to push more stuff out in the summer but my computer died mid-July and I can't go writing the next few steamy chapters of Hole with my mom's work computer, can I?

Alice Catherine (aka Ayanami) still loves you all and apologizes for the long delay. I know this is way harder for all the people who put Superior Dude on alert (and there were a LOT!) and had to wait and entire year. But I do promise you that I will have that and discontinuation notes on the other two fics.

Now onto the fic. In this chapter, Manfred realizes how much he loves his mommy.

Chapter 3

Mother's Keeper

Manfred got a car, a watch, and a hug from his mother for his 19th birthday. I mention the hug because, at least in his opinion, it was the best present he'd ever gotten.

He got all dressed up, on the imploring of Cook, to go have tea with Dorothy. At first he was adamant about the idea.

"Why in the hell should I have to go see her when all she's done is make me miserable since-"

SMACK!

"Do not speak of that poor woman like that in front of me _ever_ again, you horrible boy!" Manfred touched his stinging face. His heart, however, hurt much more than his face, because he knew Cook was right. His mother had done absolutely nothing to him. The real reason he had avoided his mother all this time was because of all of the pain he had put her through. He didn't want to have to face her after doing what he did.

But he knew he was going to have to at some point. So what better time than his 19th birthday? I mean, quite honestly, dear Manfred should have gone for his 18th, but…

So he walked into the music kitchen after his little birthday ceremony with his father, in which he got the car (_about fucking time, now I can leave this shithole every once and a while)_, the watch (_tradition for every Bloor at the age of 18 to inherit the watch but Manfred had been in the hospital for his 18__th__ birthday due to a bad case of Charlie Bone)_, and the general praise for being _so_ devious (_which I shouldn't even do anymore because you kicked out my Zelda, the only thing that kept me from running besides the fear that I'd be gunned down by this crazy mafia)_. He had been wearing his usual thing, a black dress shirt and black slacks, with a black tie, and his black cloak. If he'd been standing in night time he would be invisible. This was perfect for sneaking up on small, unsuspecting children, but was it really such a good idea to wear to tea with his mother?

Cook certainly didn't think so.

"C'mere, you! You're all scruffy and dark! Not a proper gentleman at all!" And with that she shoved him into the bathroom.

"You could use a good shower, too, dear!" Manfred started mumbling things about the smell coming with the job, but then again something compelled him to get undressed and step into the shower. Maybe it was the fact that he was going to see his mother for the first time in a long time…she had moved to Paris and was so far from him. Then she had moved back into the city to protect the endowed but wanted nothing to do with him.

So why now? Probably because it was his birthday. And she did still love him, she just couldn't handle him.

At the end of the forced shower, Cook shoved clothes through the door.

"Hurry up and get dressed! The only one who wants an eyeful of that is Miss Dobinski and heaven knows why she hasn't gone blind by now!" She said sharply. Manfred looked at the freshly folded clothes in his arms. Starched, pressed white shirt. Purple tie. Navy blue slacks. He pulled them on disdainfully and walked out into the kitchen.

_Jesus Christ. If Vertigo sees me walking down the hall like this, she'll…_

"Ah, ah, ah." Cook's stubby fingers grabbed him by the color.

"Your hair. Is absolutely stringy and atrocious." She brought out a round brush and for ten minutes straight the cook/beautician mercilessly pulled the brush through his thin, knotty hair. When she was done, she stood back and looked him up and down.

"Presentable. Your mother should be here shortly." Manfred rolled his eyes, but inside he smiled.

_What? Even a nasty little boy being groomed for the Evil Endowed Mastermind has to sensitive sometimes!_

He sat on a chair at a nice, ornate round table and waited for his mother for what seemed like eternity. Finally, the door swung open and the next thing Manfred knew his lungs were being crushed.

_What the hell is going on here?! Did Bone lead me into a trap that includes my body being crushed…oh, Zelda, I wish I would have seen you one more time…_

He did feel a bit silly when he realized it was just his mother pulling him into a very tight embrace. She pulled away and gazed at her nineteen-year-old son.

"Oh, Manfred. I've missed you something _terrible_! What has it been, 2 years?" His mother was in an uncharacteristically good mood. She looked pretty good, too. Her hair had gone from gray-white to almost-blonde, and her face had regained some of its color. She had gained a bit of weight, which was good, seeing as she was a frail rail the last time he had seen her. She was wearing a bright, colorful wrap dress and red high-heeled shoes. She had put just enough makeup on her face to cover embarrassing spots. But then, her face had regained most of its life anyway, so why did she need it?

"Yes, Mother. I haven't seen you since I was seventeen." He felt a bit awkward around her still. Even though he had _seen_ her, she hadn't really been "Mom" since he was about 6, and they hadn't talked since he was 11.

And then they talked. And talked. About _everything_. From Manfred's duties at Bloor's to the excellent concert halls Dorothy played at. And then they came to the subject that Dorothy had, quite honestly, come to discuss.

"Your father wants you to marry Mistress Alveriola. You know. Samantha Alveriola. The spear girl…with the nice blonde hair?" Manfred nodded furtively.

_God I hate her. She's such a rich bitch and cold as ice and Inez. But I owe my mom._

_What about Zelda…?_

"I disagree, however, and I request that you marry a certain girl that I have seen you fall in love with since you were 12. She is also endowed. I don't understand why your father has such a problem with her."

_Ha. Of course he does. Her parents have left her an orphan and even though she's endowed she had to quit Bloor's since she didn't have the money…or the blind loyalty…that she used to have._

"I still hold some sway over your future, and I have given it up to you to decide, if you want to even marry at all, who to marry. And I don't give a…damn…what your father thinks." And they both smiled, and Dorothy gave her son another hug, not as bone crushing, but still warm and firm.

"I love you, Mom." He says, just like he's 6 again and his mom has just forgiven him for something that his dad has just punished him for.

"I love you, too, Freddy."

Watching from the cafeteria was a man with a pencil-like mustache and a weary, unloved look to him.

"Dorothy…" He said, and it was the first time Dr. Bloor had missed his wife in a decade.

Woot. I am actually very pleased with this. VERY pleased. I love it. You will too. Press the review button and fill my AIM inbox with how you think this chapter is kick ass.


	4. Grandfather's Keeper

OK, so the author's note is in the next chapter for reasons stated at the end of next chapter. Lots of stuff actually got switched around in this fic because all of a sudden it decided it wanted to have a plot.

Anthony Zacchara does not belong to me. I wouldn't want the creeper anyway. He's from General Hospital.

Chapter 4

Grandfather's Keeper

He hates him, really. His great-grandfather. It had all started on his 19th birthday, shortly after Dorothy left.

"_So your hateful mother told you you shouldn't marry the pretty Alveriola girl?" The old man was tinkering with some sort of rodent suspended in some sort of nasty orange gluey stuff._

"_Yes, and I have already told you I agree with her, granddad. What's wrong with Zelda? She's endowed, and her endowedments are extremely powerful."_

"_Alveriola can draw things and they HAPPEN, Manfred! Her family is also extremely rich." Ezekiel had repeated this for the umpteenth time, and was beginning to sound a bit impatient with his great-grandson. But for the first time he decided to take a shot at Zelda, too._

"_Zelda, on the other hand, is a cowardly, soft, meddling, ugly, bloody little tramp!"_

That had hurt, Manfred admitted. He knew Zelda was none of those things. He needed some way out of this family.

That day he was helping the magician experiment with various methods of torture. Ever since Zelda had left Bloor's because Ezekiel was a sadist, every little thing the old man did turned his stomach. Once upon a time, Manfred believed these were just means to an end.

Then his younger brother discovered his endowedment. Everyone assumed Manfred was an only child, that the closest thing he had to brothers were Asa, Josh, and Dagbert. Gerard Bloor had apparently been living in a little underground chamber for ten years. After his mother left that same year, there had been no one left to protect him, and since he showed no sign of an endowedment, Harold gave Matron the OK to build the cell and lock the boy in it.

"_The boy! He's escaped! LUCRETIA, HOW DID THE BOY ESCAPE? HE'S SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD!"_

"_An unexpected endowedment, it would seem, Zeke." The old man stroked his chin._

"_Interesting…very interesting…the plants, you say? Just like my Hilda…"_

Manfred had forgotten about Gerard completely, but seeing him for the first time in ten years was a bit harrowing nonetheless. The sixteen-year-old had overgrown black hair that partially covered his face. His eyes were a deep purple, not the black Manfred's were but still an extremely dark violet. He shared many of the facial features Manfred had; only they were even thinner due to lack of good nutrition. To be honest, that brought up a good point. Manfred questioned how Gerard hadn't died…as far as he knew, Gerard was never fed. He was even skinnier and wirier than his older brother, and he seemed to shuffle instead of walk with a confident stride. His clothes hung off of him…wait a minute, how the hell did he have clothes that fit? These questions swirled through Manfred's head as he was given the unpleasant task of shoving the clever kid back into his cold, dark room after he escaped.

"_He's really quite stupid thinking he can run away like that. Manfred, I want you to take your brother and put him back in the dung hole he came from."_

"_Yes, granddad."_

He was still as much a sadist as his great-grandfather.

Except it wasn't a cold, dark room anymore. Gerard's room actually had a light bulb. And that wasn't all.

It was filled with several different kinds of plants and flowers. Newspaper clippings and vinyl records and CDs were strewn about the room.

"How did you get these?" Manfred was finally impressed with his younger brother.

"This isn't the first time I've escaped, you know. I've been able to do this for a few months now. This is just the first time I've got caught. Plus, there's Angeli-"He shut his mouth.

"Angeli? Angelina. _Angelina Pike?_"

"Yeah, Asa's sister. Lina's been sneaking me music and keeping me very good company. If it hadn't been for her I would have never learned to read or write or speak English well. She's my wife." Manfred snorted.

"And I suppose this Venus Fly Trap performed the ceremony." Gerard gave his brother an angry, exasperated look.

"We like to pretend. We're really the only ones that ever cared about the other, you know. Now, aren't you leaving?" The boy had a tart attitude now. Gerard was beginning to grow on him.

He only had a few weeks to know him before he died.

That was the beginning of Manfred's defection. Gerard's death represented everything that Ezekiel was: the sadistic means to a sadistic, selfish end. His brother had done absolutely nothing wrong…

Except try to run.

Ezekiel absolutely could not lose control of his powerful children. He was like a mob boss, really.

"Manfred, hand me that poker. We're going to surprise a meddling little girl."

Manfred does it because he's afraid Ezekiel will kill him like he killed Gerard. And Ezekiel blasts at Olivia Vertigo and narrowly misses. The schoolchildren scurry.

"Blast it, Manfred!" He throws the poker across the room, where it makes a hole in the wall. Manfred shakes now, angry at Ezekiel for almost killing a child, angry at himself for helping…oh, God, what if the blast had hit Olivia…no one would have cared…the Bloors owned the city.

This is what war feels like. A war perpetuated by a selfish old man with no heart.

But Manfred will continue to "Yes, sir" and "No, sir" until someone even closer to him than Gerard gets hurt.

Zelda.

He would not let that happen. So he prepares his speech for the city's Anthony Zacchara, playing the role of Johnny Zacchara. Jesus he needs to stop watching those American TV soap dramas with Zelda all the time.

"Granddad, I have to tell you something." There was no going back now. Absolutely nothing would stop him…

…except…

The play-back of the hypnotism of Lyell Bone and the play-back of Gerard's death clouded his mind and he knew he had to go back, at least until he inadvertently did something that kicked him out of the family.

He couldn't be Johnny to Zelda's Lulu.

"What's that you had to say, Manfred?"

"Nothing, granddad. Nothing at all."

Not yet. Tomorrow he would continue to take care of his elderly great-grandfather. Tomorrow he would push the stupid little wheelchair around wherever Ezekiel wanted to go. Tomorrow he would experiment on mockingbirds. Tomorrow he would help Ezekiel kill children.

Because it's a family thing, and he has to take care of whatever family he has left.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

So. Plot. There it is. The real, deeper meaning of Manfred started to keep his little pseudo-family safe. This was supposed to be chapter 5.


	5. Father's Keeper

So I figured I should start this the same way I started the notes for the 20 kisses fic:

*takes in enough air*

MY GRANDPARENTS BOUGHT ME A $600 LAPTOP!

*breathes again*

Unfortunately, I won't have a modem until tomorrow. I'll try to have this done by then, and hopefully a few more chapters of it done, too.

And now it's the next day and I should really get my ass in gear. Here's some shout outs before I start, though:

-To Suchan or whatever she decides to call herself this week, because she is awesome and writes awesome fanfiction even though the majority of it (all of it, really) is Zelda-bashing. She was one of the first great CB writers and I'm glad our friendship has survived three years through neither of us updating very much.

-unexpectedrevelations, for her M/Z stuff being much better than my first M/Z stuff. And for being fucking awesome at making me cry, particularly when I'm menstrual and emotional and watching sad parts of General Hospital.

-xx d o t for her amazing not-quite-crack pairings and for writing amazing M/Z stuff

-The Bunnies Will Kill Us All for giving me stuff to read when I'm on a sugar and/or depressed.

So, fic. Here you guys go, you earned it!

Chapter 5

Father's Keeper

Every Sunday morning at 5:30 AM sharp (or as Asa liked to call it, the "ass crack of dawn), Manfred descended his tower (because let's face it, his room is at the top of this fucking tower) to the grounds. He carried his switchblade with him, solemnly, as he crept behind the ruin. He wasn't meeting Asa, nor was he looking for trouble.

No, Manfred was going to practice.

He did not see his father upon entering the ruin, so he assumed that the man was having trouble getting out of bed. Manfred sighed as he thought about his father, who was getting to be considerably advanced in years.

_Let's see…if I've just turned 19, then Father must be…fifty-four._

The number surprised him, as Harold looked much older. His poor dad…_wait a minute._

A rock near the entrance was overturned. It had not been when he arrived, and he had made sure that he didn't disturb _anything_. The constant Sunday lessons with his father had made him either paranoid or extremely alert. He looked around but only had a split second before someone lunged at him. Manfred turned in the blink of an eye and grabbed Harold's earlobe, shoving the switchblade against his throat. Manfred was quick but Harold had experience. The younger Blood swore softly as he felt the cold blade creep up under his shirt, slicing it open. Manfred grunted, clearly annoyed, and pushed his father backwards, only with too much force, as he would learn in horror. Harold flew back and smashed his head and back against a wall.

"Father?" No movement.

"DAD!" Manfred roared, rushing to his father's aid. He regained his composure when he saw his father was seemingly unharmed.

"Father, are you all right?" He asked, trying to bite back the worry in his voice. Dr. Bloor was panting heavily as he sat up…_no, crying…_

"Dad?" He felt it was safe to let his guard down now as he watched his father cry.

"Manfred, I am going to tell you something that might rebuild everything that my wretched grandfather destroyed in you." Manfred nodded.

"I want you to forget Alveriola, OK? I married your mother for the wrong reasons and only grew to love her when it was too late. You and Zelda have something that Ezekiel thus far has not broken. I want you to take her and Asa and the twins and the boys and run. Ruby already has a safe place. Go stay with your mother for a while until she gets you a place to live. Then marry Zelda so that you guarantee your safety from your great-grandfather. Don't do what I did…don't make my mistakes…" His father, rambling now, was sweaty and delusional. Something was clearly, obviously wrong. The headmaster needed help. Badly. Manfred knew he couldn't move the man on his own. He closed his eyes to think. He _could_ make a Pathfinding Spinner with the strength he had now. But would it be enough to keep his father warm in the cold December air?

"OK. This is easy. OK, let's make some fire." He could feel the panic monster crawling up his throat. He slammed his hand on the ground, where a small fire wheel began to spin. It began to pick up speed, and as Manfred looked at his hurting father, he cleared his throat of the emotion. If he couldn't move Harold on his own, he would have to find the one person that could help.

"Show me to Zelda." The coals stopped spinning and began to drop to the ground, forming words.

**APARTMENT #571, CARLISLE APARTMENT COMPLEX, THE CITY.**

Manfred rolled his eyes. At this ungodly hour, she would probably still be sleeping. It was Sunday, after all. So he would have the effect of poking a sleeping beast in the eye, essentially, which he _has_ done before, and it didn't end pretty…

"Please, keep him warm while I'm gone." The hot embers circled around Harold as Manfred broke into a powerful run, knowing his long legs would be the only thing helping him get his father help. He ran through the city opposite the Cathedral. He was halfway to the Carlisle Apartment complex when he felt something warm hit him in the back of the head. He turned around angrily.

"What?" He asked irritably. The coals fell into place on the ground again.

**INGLEDEW BOOKSHOP**. He paused.

"Why?"

**TALKING TO EMMA TOLLY**

"Why?"

**PEACE TALKS**

"Paton Yewbeam, Emma's new uncle-in-law, killed her brother last month. Now that I think of it, all three of us have lost family in the last few months. Angelina went on a werewolf rampage and killed Beth's family and then lay down to die in…" His voice trails off as an incomprehensible lump begins to form in his throat.

"And then Damian last month…and…" He tries to clear the lump.

"And Gerard before them all. But yeah, Paton killed Damian."

**ACCIDENT. THE BOY JUMPED IN FRONT OF EUSTACIA WHEN EUSTACIA WAS TRYING TO KILL JULIA INGLEDEW.**

"He was trying to protect Zelda, who happened to be about two feet away!" Manfred felt kind of stupid arguing with his endowedment, which was really partly the good part of Borlath in fire form, but he knew had no time to lose.

**IT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH POOR EMMA.** Manfred sighed, annoyed.

"Fine, whatever. But. One more thing. What's keeping my father warm, hm?"

**CATS. THEY KNOW YOU WANT TO HELP.** Manfred blinked back tears, understanding.

"Thank you." He turned the other way and sprinted toward the other end of the city. He rushed past the Cathedral…_Lyell Bone with a blank look on his face and he wouldn't see his son again…_the Pets' Café…_the night Beth started staying with Zelda because Angelina Pike had found out about Gerard and slaughtered Beth's entire family outside the café and just lay there next to Gerard's bloody body in_…the alleyway, the dark, depressing alleyway that no one goes near anymore because of the awful murders that took place there that night…_Ezekiel had said that it was Gerard's choice, become a part of the family that had completely ignored him for sixteen years when his endowedment showed up…his plants…and Gerard chose to protect his Angelina, the only one that cared about him, and there he was with a hole in his stomach where Ezekiel had blasted him, lying in a pool of his own blood until Angelina arrives and rocks them both to eternal sleep…_why was the bookshop so bloody hard to _find_? At last he finds it, and Zelda peers out the window down at him. She knew…she somehow knew he would be here. Oh, yes, her mother, the empath…Zelda had inherited both telekinesis and empathy. Somehow she knew Manfred was in a great amount of stress and pain and she had stayed up to wait for him. Seeing him, she rushed down the stairs to meet him.

"What's wrong, Manfred? Shh, shh, darling, stop, it's quite all right." Manfred had fallen into her arms, crying, but still marveling at the composure she kept. She had loved her brother so much and she was staying in the shop of the wife of the man who killed him…_my God, she's so beautiful…_

"My father…the ruin…delusional…you have to help!" Zelda nods.

"Take me to him. Is your great-grandfather awake yet?" Manfred can't answer, is sobbing, and this is the most vulnerable that Zelda's ever seen him.

"Calm." The one word rings in Manfred's ears and he knows that Zelda's presence, her command, the fact that she knows she has to be Cook's successor and uses her command of respect to help, has to relieve him at least a little bit.

"All right. No, Grandpa isn't awake yet, Zelda." Zelda closed her eyes and nodded.

"Well, all right then. You look extremely tired. I shall go ask Julia if we can borrow Paton's car." She quickly walks back into the shop for a few minutes that feel like a few hours to Manfred. Finally she walks out, dressed more appropriately, with Paton and Emma.

"They want to help, Manfred. Mr. Yewbeam suspects that your father has been hexed by your great-grandfather." Emma looks up at Manfred firmly.

"I can create a distraction." Manfred shakes his head.

"It's too dangerous, Emma." Emma crosses her arms angrily.

"Bollocks." Everyone is shocked at the language. "I'm plenty useful and if you want to help Dr. Bloor into the castle undetected I'm the only thing you've got right now. Uncle Paton is going to blow up the lights in the main hall so that Weedon is preoccupied, too. It's all under control." Manfred looks at the small girl in front of him. She's twelve, not much older than Zelda was she and Manfred met. He looks at the man in front of him, only seven years younger than his father but looking twenty years younger. And then he looks at the remarkable young woman standing by his side, her tussled hair and her face that has already had the etching from concern and worry. He knew that was who he had, and he trusted them.

"We need to go now."

Paton did about 90 in the city knowing that no one would be up so early on a Sunday. Down the street from Bloor's, he suddenly pulled over.

"Hey, man, why the hell did you stop?" Manfred asked angrily. Zelda squeezed his hand and he immediately apologized.

"We've stopped, young man, because this car is recognizable, and also obnoxiously loud." Paton sits back in the seat a minute.

"We'll walk down the road quietly and into the ruin. We probably won't be detected doing that. But just to make sure the youngest member of our rescue squad is safe…" He said, eyes lingering over his new niece, "I want Emma to turn into a raven now." Emma nodded.

"OK. It's something I haven't tried yet, but if I've managed a tollroc, this should be simple." Emma closed her eyes. She concentrated hard until she felt the release that usually meant she was a bird. Upon opening her eyes, she discovered that she was, indeed, a raven. Paton's eyes brightened.

"Positively Poe-like! Brilliant job, Emma." She bobbed her black head in appreciation.

"All right, now, my dear, feathered niece. I want you to go wake up old Ezekiel. I will go cause random chaos and debauchery in the Great Hall. That leaves you two," He looked firmly at Manfred and Zelda.

"To go rescue Harold. _Bonne chance, mes amis."_ Manfred and Zelda nodded as they headed into the direction of the ruin and Paton headed in the other direction.

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"Zel." He said softly when they reached the exit to the ruin. He took her hand.

"If anything goes wrong I want you to run. Got it?" Zelda gave him an oddly determined look.

"I won't leave you here to end up like your brother, Manfred!" Manfred sighed exasperatedly.

"Zelda, you take care of all of us. You have ever since Cook's been too old to do it anymore. Imagine if we lost you. Where would Billy and Beth go? Who would all those girls come and talk to? Who would I…" He trailed off, biting his tongue.

"Say it." She said sharply.

"Who would I get married to?" Zelda punched him in the arm.

"Don't talk nonsense like that when it's very likely one or both of us won't see the end of this! Besides, Manfred, I'm only seventeen. I can't marry you now. I'm too young." She led the walk into the ruin Manfred wasn't disappointed…she was being realistic, of course, and she was absolutely right…

He couldn't help feeling sorry for himself.

They ran the ruin course backwards all the way to the entrance where his father lay babbling and delirious.

"I feel lost, Manfred. Your father is very lost. Probably a botched hypnotism." She closed her eyes. The emotion had been a bit much for her.

"Stop Empathizing. You'll hurt yourself! Just sit and rest for a few minutes."

"Manfred, no. I'm fine. Mr. Yewbeam only gave us a limited window of time. We need to get your dad help." She came to her senses and stared at Harold. She looked at him in utter concentration until, finally, the headmaster began to float, shakily.

"Don't strain yourself!" Manfred's voice shot through the air like a bullet, causing her to nearly lose balance.

"You're going to make me drop him!" She sounded furious.

"I'm not the little girl I was when I left Bloor's, OK? Just shut up and let me help your father." Manfred sighed, finally accepting his girlfriend's determination. Slowly, she carried Harold, who was now sobbing, out of the ruin. She gasped upon looking at the castle.

"Oh no…oh no…oh no…" She was going to cry.

"Zel, what's wrong?" Zelda gave a shriek of anguish and pointed up at the castle.

"Emma." She whispered.

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Emma was in a spot of trouble. She was dangling from a birdcage at the top of the tower. An old, gnarled hand was sticking outside the window holding some sort of poker. When he would poke her with it, it would shock her and she'd squawk. Zelda dropped Harold and fell to her knees, weeping bitterly.

"You sick bastard. You don't do that to a _child_…" Manfred grasped her shoulder. If he hadn't gotten a passionate telling-to from her in the ruin he would have reminded her that she, too, was a child. She stood.

"I need to do this." She looked into the windows of the Great Hall, which were flashing.

"So the Great Hall's a no go, and we can't use the tower entrance." Manfred stroked his chin slowly.

"Wait. I know a way."

He led Zelda around the castle to a cellar door poorly covered in sticks and leaves. Fumbling through his pockets, he suddenly realized that he hadn't carried the key to his brother's room (_his cell_) since he died. It wasn't as if he went to visit him ever. For sixteen years, since Manfred was three, he liked to pretend he didn't have a brother, especially after six years passed without any sign of an endowedment. He had never spoken to his brother until Ezekiel had found out that Gerard could manipulate plants and flowers. Gerard had used the grass outside his little coop to escape.

"Shit. I don't have the key. And there's no way we can get it."

"Well I guess we're shit out of luck, then." Manfred began to panic. Suddenly he heard glass breaking. Mr. Weedon had flown through the window onto the grounds.

"ZELDA! HURRY UP AND GET HAROLD UP TO HIS ROOM! OR BETTER YET, TO COOK!" Zelda acknowledged Paton, mustered up her strength, and bolted, Harold whizzing behind her. Manfred, beginning to lose sight of Zelda's bun, which had been falling out, started to sprint behind him. They managed to get into the castle and slam the door while Weedon was still disoriented, but Zelda didn't stop running. She bounded all the way to the blue kitchen.

"We need Cook! COOK!" She screamed. The woman walked out in a white and blue bathrobe.

"What's wrong? Oh my God, Dr. Bloor!"

"Please, Cook. Please take care of him while we go help Emma and Mr. Yewbeam." Cook nodded.

"OK, Zelda. Can you handle this on your own?" Zelda took the elder woman's hands.

"Yes, Treasure. I can do it. You should be able to relax now. Just do this one more thing for me and I promise I can take over and preserve the balance." Cook had tears in her eyes.

"All right, Zelda. Be careful. I will give you luck." Zelda had already taken off.

"You, too, young man. Don't make her a widow before you even marry." Manfred rolled his eyes and was off.

Manfred caught up with Zelda when she was half way up the stairs to Ezekiel's attic. Both of them were running frantically.

"Go help Mr. Yewbeam, Manfred! I'll deal with Ezekiel." Manfred knew, however, that he had this one chance to keep everyone safe, this one chance to personally destroy the man who destroyed his real family and was out to destroy the family he had created himself.

"Zel, I need to do this myself."

"But Man-"

"_No_, Zelda He tried to hypnotize my father. Go help Paton out. I'll be fine dealing with Granddad." Zelda looked at him worriedly.

"Fine." She turned around to rush to the Great Hall while Manfred continued ascending the stairs to Ezekiel's miserable room. Rage filled him to the top as he listened to his great-grandfather's cruel laughter and he kicked the door open.

"How dare you." He wanted to lunge at him, break the evil magician's face. "HOW DARE YOU HYPNOTIZE MY FATHER!" He screamed. He noticed that Matron Yewbeam was also in the room, and she turned Zeke around to face his great-grandson.

"He tried to meddle. He got his punishment. He's never done this before, and he's never been hypnotized. He most certainly won't do it again, so he won't be hypnotized again." He cackled madly.

"Right now the little birdie's getting hers, and shortly my dear brother and that little slut of a girlfriend of yours will pay dearly for destroying our Great Hall." They were both laughing now. Manfred was taking heavy breaths to prevent himself from punching his great-grandfather in the face. Ezekiel stuck his hand out the window again and Manfred suddenly remembered what he was really up there for.

"Let her go, Ezekiel! You're hurting her! That's _child abuse_. You know. That little term that could describe what you did to me when my mother left while my father looked on!"

"Tut, tut, great-grandson. This should be nothing compared to the mental pain you put her through for ten years." He shocked her again.

"I did those things because I was afraid of you. I was young. I was stupid. Part of me kind of enjoyed putting other things in pain because of how I was treated. Then Zelda left. You made her leave. Then you killed my brother. Now you've given my father permanent brain damage because he finally intervened in my life. SO NOW WHAT? DO YOU REALLY EXPECT ME TO LET YOU LIVE WHEN YOU MADE THE LAST NINETEEN YEARS OF MY LIFE A LIVING HELL? I AM GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU IN THE WORST WAY POSSIBLE! LET EMMA GO! IF YOU LET HER GO NOW I MIGHT WAIT A BIT LONGER TO LET YOU GET YOUR AFFAIRS IN ORDER OR WHATEVER THE HELL AN OLD IDIOT LIKE YOU HAS TO DO!" He bellowed.

"Temper, temper, Manfred. Of course I'll let her go. Wait a little bit longer. I will let the girl Emma Tolly go."

"Why can't you do it now, old man?"

"Because if I did that she could just fly to keep herself from falling to the ground completely. No, we're going to wait until she outgrows that little cage I put her in, then we'll let her go."

"I can't believe you. I can't believe you're going to kill another kid like you killed Gerard."

"I didn't kill your brother, Manfred. Your brother made a choice that led to consequences. Sort of like if you chose to walk in front of a bus." That one sentence made something completely snap in Manfred.

"Fine, old man. Don't say I didn't warn you about this." A flash of red permeated Manfred's usually black eyes.

"You wouldn't have the guts to set this place on fire. You still have too many memories of the fire two years ago." The desk in front of Ezekiel burst into flames.

"Try me, old man." Ezekiel started yelling at Matron to do something, but as the desk was in front of her, she couldn't. They were, essentially, trapped. Manfred darted across the room to the window and climbed out, beginning to undo the cage door, setting Emma free. She could barely fly. Manfred watched as Emma sort-of soared back down to the ground, then climbed back into the room, where the desk fire was beginning to spread.

"You don't have to do this, Manfred. I swear if I live through this, which I will, you will be extremely sorry." Manfred smirked before he slammed the door.

"I don't have anything to worry about then." Quickly, as the fire spread, he bolted down the stairs, grabbed Zelda and Paton by the hand, and rushed outside.

Zelda looked puzzled.

"What happened that you needed to drag me out like this?" She saw the spreading fire that was causing the Music Tower to crumble.

"Oh God, Manfred. What have you done?" For the first time in a long time, she looked genuinely terrified.

"What? I burned the witch and the magician, too. It'll be fine, everyone'll think it's accidental." Paton shook his head.

"No, Manfred. Did you know that Lord Grimwald is here? Thank God Cook left because of it…but still…he's probably already on his way up to put the fire out." Manfred's eyes widened.

"Oh God…oh God, no…what have I done? He said I'd pay for it…oh my God…" Zelda looked up at Manfred with tears in her eyes. He noticed she was taking shaky breaths.

"Well, Manfred, you said you wanted out of the family. Yet you were too scared to just leave. Now you've not only guaranteed that you're out of the family, you've probably also put your life in danger." Manfred took her hand.

"It's all right. I do what I have to in order to be a good keeper."

"Keeper?"

"One who keeps things. In my case, one who keeps people safe." Paton had a flash of anger on his face and out of nowhere punched Manfred in the face.

"You _foolish_ boy! Can't you see that none of us are safe?" He looked sadly at his niece, who was turned back into a girl but covered in burns from where she was shocked.

"Especially us meddlers."

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All right, so here's just what in the hell happened here.

While I was writing this it all of a sudden decided it should have a real plot. I didn't plan this _at all_. It went from the light father-son humor to extremely angsty to full-blown dramatic action. It's a bit late in the story for plot, but I think the sub-plot with Manfred dealing with all of the death around him works into the whole keeping people safe thing. He couldn't keep his brother safe so he has to keep everyone else safe, you know?

So basically, I started writing this intending it to be chapter 4. Then it got all dramatic and I decided that Manfred needed to deal with the fact that he was still a puppet before he went all vigilante justice on Ezekiel's ass. I went back, wrote a chapter 4, and then finished this.

If you guys don't like that I suddenly threw plot in your face, _please_ let me know so I fix it. As hard as I worked on this, I do it for you guys to have something to read, so if you don't like it, tell me, and I'll scrap it and write two new ones.

Finally, I should probably let you know that I still haven't read Shadow, so the plot of this obviously reflects that fact. I actually got it four days early today and I plan on starting it tonight while I watch the Rock of Love Charm School finale.

So, there's one chapter left of this, which will most likely be started at school so I can come home and type it, which is what I did for most of this.

ARR and ARR, OK? 


	6. Lover's Keeper

So here's the last chapter. I'm actually fucking finishing something pretty quickly considering how I've let other things rot.

This chapter is actually a bit more Zelda-centric than Manfred-centric for the first part but it gets right back to the good stuff. I'm actually tempted to rate this M because of a particularly gruesome death.

I decided that this whole thing should take place a few months after Shadow because I just read it. Worst. Ending. Ever. But I might be biased because I can't stand Tancred. Also, still no sign of Zelda. D: Maybe she'll add her in the next book. Honestly, the whole Manfred/Dorcas thing is being implied. I think I will cry if it happens.

Um, I have story, too, you know. And here it is.

Chapter 6

Lover's Keeper

"Ouch, ouch, OUCH!" Manfred hissed in pain as Zelda propped his aching legs on two pillows.

"Honestly, after all the running we've been doing lately, it's no wonder that your legs hurt as much as they do. Still no news on your dad, by the way, except that Harken's been made temporary headmaster of Bloors which is absolute bull sh-SIT STILL!" He lay back on his bed in a huff.

Their relationship had been strained for a while, now. They had been living with ten other people in two one-room apartments set up for them by Mrs. Bloor. Five in each room with several of them being kids under fifteen does not a quiet home make. The house count went up to fifteen when Mrs. Bloor, despite having a penthouse apartment in the building across the street, moved in to make sure Zelda, Mrs. Tilpin, and Mrs. Yewbeam didn't have to handle so much. Having her boyfriend's mum in the house criticizing her lack of motherly skills was the first added pressure for Zelda.

Then her mum, who spoke very limited English, moved in. Mrs. Tilpin knew absolutely zero French, so Joshua taught her a little bit that he'd learned from textbooks, but Mrs. Dobinski was from a part of France where the textbook would not apply most of the time, so the dialect was extremely different. Dagbert would get frustrated with the Frenchwoman and attempt to drown her, but Zelda would launch a book or three at his head and he would just sigh and get back to studying.

Then the twins had an idea that on paper looked good. Their mother, Zelda's aunt on her mother's side, could come to live with them. Charlotte Branko knew much more English than her sister, but had a heavy accent and still preferred her native language.

Zelda had neglected to think of that fact when she invited Auntie Charlotte to stay with them. The two women would babble in French about how Manfred was "_trop maigre_" (too skinny), "_trop sérieux_" (too serious), and "_pas un bon match du tout_" (not a good match at all). Zelda would reply with a sigh and a reproachful "Maman" or "Tantine" or sometimes both.

Manfred had had enough of the women's jabs.

"Zel, you have to do something about your mum and aunt constantly having a go at me!"

"_My_ mum? Your mum's the one who constantly breathes down my neck when I'm making dinner for the little ones and criticizing me all the time!"

"She tries to help you! You shouldn't even be doing it! You're only sevente-"

"Don't even start with me on tha—" Suddenly, a high-pitched cry could be heard. It sounded like a wounded animal. And it was coming from across the hall.

"Oh what the hell now…Dagbert, stop fighting Asa!" The cry was heard again, this time sounding more human and strangled.

"What _was _that?"

"ZELDA! MRS. BLOOR! MADAME DOBINSKI! SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP! HE'S GONE AND KILLED MY MOM!" An icy chill ran down Zelda's back. No, it wasn't possible…she was the only one left with an endowedment she could fight with…

"Oh God, no. Not Fairy Tilpin…she was a witch…my mum's just an Empath…" She and Manfred ran across the hall to the room the boys and Fairy Tilpin were staying in. Dagbert, face frozen in horror, points to the bathroom where Josh is sitting in front of the tub looking like death warmed over. Zelda bursts in and is met with a gruesome sight.

Mrs. Tilpin had been sickeningly killed. She was tied to the tub with two of Josh's socks while another sock filled her mouth. Blood was on the sock and also trickled down the side of her mouth. But that wasn't the worst of it.

She'd been cut open, too, brutally, like some sort of animal had done it. Her insides, including her heart, were lying neatly in a heap on her chest. Zelda closed her eyes; she had promised herself not to cry, and sedately walked out to the "bedroom", took a sheet, and covered Mrs. Tilpin in it. Titania, in death, had regained some of her beauty as Miss Chrystal.

"Dagbert, you can clean this up, right? The blood? With mist or rain water or a flood or SOMETHING?" Her voice shook. Dagbert regained calm, knew that as one of the oldest boys that he had to keep calm.

"I suppose I should then." He said moodily. Zelda gave him a look and pointed as his best friend, who looked hollow and as dead as his mother.

"I know you'll be thirteen and a few days and that's tough, but please try to have some respect for the dead. After you clean this up, we need to pack because we're moving. They've found us." Joshua burst into sobs.

"What about my MUM? ARE WE JUST GONNA LEAVE HER IN THE BLOODY TUB?" Zelda clasped her hands.

"My aunt has this endowedment. It's a bit nasty, you see. Well, she can make the dead invisible. We'll have to make her a makeshift grave. Josh, we need to get out of here before they kill someone else. Where's Asa?"

"He heard something about his sister and went to bust some skulls." Dagbert said calmly. Manfred ran into the room.

"What the hell happened here?" Zelda was shocked at his insensitivity.

"Fairy Tilpin is dead. I'd like to know what the fuck you propose we do about it?" The language shocked Manfred, now.

"I don't know. Looks like Asa did it, and I'm sure as hell he didn't, so we seemed to have reached an impasse." His girlfriend looked extremely angry. Without warning, she smacked him in the face.

"I'm going out." She said bitterly.

"You can't just _leave._ We_ need_ you." Manfred put on a whiny voice.

"Watch me. No one seems to appreciate what I do until I get hurt, anyway. I'm going out." Manfred took her hand.

"Where, dear?"

"Out." She walked out the door and slammed it.

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_It's getting too hard for me to handle. I can't even Empathize correctly anymore. I'm overusing the telekinesis. I should just leave and move back to Poland with Papa like he asked me to…but no, I decided I had to be in love with an asshole…_

_Really, though_, She thought, _why did he have to be so insensitive about the whole situation?_ She was wandering the streets of London alone in the snow. Problem was, she didn't know where she was going. Maybe she could catch a film or go window shopping. But she knew she was totally independent and any chav who thought he could take advantage would have the nasty experience of have a car or something thrown at them. She felt a hand cover her mouth and she figured it'd be OK. She focused on the TV in the window of a shop but it wouldn't move.

"I'm sorry, my dearly departed great-granddaughter, but your mind-moving won't be any use to you here." The rough hands shoved her face around to face him, nearly breaking her neck.

"Look into his eyes, dear Zelda…" She tried to fight it but as Ezekiel Bloor cackled she found herself gasping, her pupils dilating…she was hypnotized…

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"It's not like her to just up and leave like that, Manfred. What the hell did you do?" Dorothy Bloor asked her son sternly as she piled wraps into a suitcase.

"I…really don't know." He said. He was still puzzled about it. She slapped him in the _face_ because he didn't know who killed Fairy Tilpin.

"Mate, I think when she comes back you should apologize. Gah, _where is that sock?!_"

"We don't have time to look! The guy that killed my mum might come back!" Joshua, in fear, had taken no more than 5 minutes to pack all of his things. The twins looked at him.

"We're not leaving without Zelda, you know. Auntie Claire would have a fit." As if on cue, Mrs. Dobinski walked in.

"_Ou est Zelda_?" Manfred looked at her sister.

"She wants to know where her daughter is." Charlotte said. Manfred sighed irritably.

"She had a fit and walked out." Charlotte nodded.

"Eet ees like mah niece to do zat. But she 'as not ree-turned? Most unlike her." Manfred was doused in icy fear as Charlotte relayed the happenings to her sister, who wailed in anguish.

"Asa, we need to talk outside." He whispered. Asa nodded.

"You had the same thought I did, then?"

"Probably." They walked into the hall.

"What if the thing that got Titania has Zelda?" Manfred asked frantically.

"That's what I think happened here. But we can't just leave them here. They'll be picked apart, with the exception of Josh but still. They probably didn't kill her…it would give us no reason to leave…they want us two to go out and look for her so that they can come back and finish what they started with Mrs. Tilpin."

"So we wait?" Manfred asked. Asa nodded sadly.

"We have to."

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"Poor thing needed to be carried in from the cold. She was just lyin' in the middle of the parking lot freezing herself to death. She's right lucky she didn't catch hypothermia."

"Maisie, you should really advise us when you bring, ah, company over."

"Nonsense, Grizelda, anyone could see it was an emergency!" The girl was awoken by two elderly women arguing. She sat up in the bed she was lying in and noticed herself in the mirror. She has long, unkempt black hair and wide brown eyes. She's a deadly shade of pale and her pale pink lips stick out awkwardly.

Describing herself did not help her remember her name, as she would find out when Maisie came bustling in.

"Oh! You're awake, dear. Well, I hope I haven't startled you any." The girl shook her head, taken aback by the boisterous personality of the round, cheery woman in front of her. She definitely did not remember this.

"I suppose you'll want tea, dear? If you don't, that's all right. You've been asleep for half the day. I didn't want to call the police…too much hustle and bustle and I figured it had something to do with…well…my grandson might be of service to you. His name is Charlie Bone. He'll tell you if those nasty Bloors have had anything to do with you."

Bone and Bloor. Two names she found familiar. One had a particular ring to it…Bloor…what did it mean to her…?

"I don't think we've properly introduced ourselves yet. Well, I'm Maisie Jones. And just who are you?" The girl tried to stammer a reply…but what to say…somehow a name seemed familiar.

"Anika."

"And does Anika have a last name?"

"I'm not too sure, Ms. Jones."

"Oh, call me Maisie, dear. Everyone else does. Hm, I suppose I should send Charlie in." And with that she bounced out. A few words were exchanged in the hall between Maisie and a teenage boy, by the sound of it. There was a knock on the door.

"C-come in." Charlie Bone walked in, and he looked stunned at the sight of her.

"Zelda!"

"Who?" Charlie groaned.

"Oh no. It's gotten you, too. People worried about you!" Anika shook her head.

"No, not me. No one worries about me. People like to take advantage. And who is Zelda? My name is Anika, I'm pretty sure. I think I bumped my head outside the supermarket last night."

"Uh-oh. Jeez, they really hit the mark on this one. Maybe I should take you to see my Uncle Paton Yewbeam."

Yewbeam. Another familiar word.

"Hm. I suppose I could, if it helps me remember what happened. Is your Uncle a police officer?" Charlie was stuck, but he knew he had to lie through his teeth.

"He's something like that." Ah. Lying by omission. He saw a woman in a movie get pushed into an oven for lying by omission. Zelda shrugs.

"All right, then." He leads her by her hand outside and up the street. It was unnerving, almost scary, seeing Zelda so vulnerable and feeble.

They reached the book shop. Since it was Saturday, Yewbeam Books was extremely busy.

"Hello, Char-_Zelda_!" Emma exclaimed. Anika shook her head irritably.

"I told you, I'm Anika! I just don't remember…my last name. I don't remember anything." Emma took her hands and cleared her voice, trying to sound more like an adult.

"Then isn't it just the tiniest bit plausible that you could be Zelda Dobinski?" Anika blinked.

"I suppose. But I don't remember!" She wailed. Emma looked at Charlie.

"We should definitely get Uncle Paton." Anika continued to stare into space as Paton Yewbeam bustled in.

"Oh no. Zelda, please say you can hear me."

No movement.

"Zelda, please. You have to wake up. You've been hypnotized!" Emma said. She knew that, as someone who had been severely hypnotized herself, she had to do anything she could to help Zelda.

"Zelda, you have to remember you're endowed. Remember your friends. Remember how we all need you…remember how Manfred Bloor loves you…please, Zelda…"

No movement.

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Surprise end chapter.

The plot decided to eat this chapter and spit it out as two parts. Now is a good place to stop. Part 2 will be tomorrow. Hopefully.


	7. Regret's Keeper

All right, you guys. I'm about to do something I really don't want to do, and that's discontinue this fic.

Cue tomato throwing and me being burned at the stake.

I feel particularly awful about this one because it was one of my most alerted fics so I know there was a loyal group looking forward to it, but I really don't know how to end it.

Now that plot and such ate it. I really don't like what I did with this. I hate the long gaps between it and the last chapter would have to be monstrous and I didn't wanna try to put a buttload of action in it and make it suck.

So here's what I'll do. I'll do what I've said I'd do for Twilight Town Psychiatric Facility. If anyone wants to write a last chapter for it, they can kindly email me the final chapter that they've written and I'll upload it with zero credit for myself and all for the writer, or if they want they can upload it onto their own account as the last chapter of Keeper by AyanamiEraclea.

I just have one condition for that. Gerard and Angelina have to be incorporated somehow into the last chapter. I had planned for a new endowed girl who could make puppets out of corpses to be responsible for Fairy Tilpin's death by puppetting Angelina, but do with it what you'd like.

I have two really good projects that I know what I want to do with and I'll be sure to pace myself this time and not let stupid plot details and laziness get in the way. I'll have one project at least halfway done by the end of this weekend, and oneshots that are scheduled on my profile in between.

So again, I'm upset and sorry about this, really. I just had a lot of figuring out to do in my real life again.

Thanks,

Alice/Ayanami


End file.
